They knew the price, how couldn’t they? Everyone knew of the Lord and Ladies.

How did the races come to be?
The legends speak of three Angels, sent from heaven by Anatal the Creator himself to search for The Jewel of the Skies, the Moonstone and Sun Gem.
In that time, there were only three other creatures upon the earth, a Spirit of the wood, a Spirit of Darkness and a Spirit of the Afterlife.

The Angels collected the Gems, Gabrial the Sky Jewel, Cyrial the Moon Stone, and Julial the Sun Gem.

But, Catash the Destroyer, Anatal’s own brother, caught the Angels as they flew to heaven upon a shaft of light, and he ripped the feathered wings from their bodies. The Gems flew from their hands, cast to the farthest reaches of that world.

And the Angels fell to the ground, but Anatal made the ground soft and they were unscathed by it. And he told them that they would live on the world, and they would be mortals, with souls, who would give birth to a divine race, Julial as the mother, Gabrial and Cyrial as the fathers. And they were to die, to be rejoined with Anatal, in a form not even Catash could spoil.

But Gabrial strayed to the Dark Spirit’s arms. Julial fell in love with the Wood Spirit, and Cyrial took for a wife, the Afterlife Spirit.

From Julial, came the fair Elves, the wood dwellers. They have the touch of the Sun Gem within them, and grass grows green even in their shadows. Their own stroke of a finger upon a flowers stem can cause a fragrant bloom of wondrous colours.

From Gabrial came the Dragon Folk, those who controlled the powerful Reptilian creatures that Catash had sought to use to destroy them. These folk are destructive, full of hate to those who seek to hurt them, and yet, indescribably beautiful even when they kill. The most Dragon Lords and Ladies are even said to become one with their own beasts.

And from Cyrial, came the Vampires. Creatures with ghastly skin, and silvered eyes. These creatures are Evil, born of death and the touch of the Moonstone allows them to cloak themselves in the shadows. They cannot walk in open sunlight, unless they are of most powerful of the kind.
They were cursed by Anatal for their sheer presence brought evil, and they were banished to the darkest icy caves where they’ve lain in sleep since the dawn of the world, while it grew beyond them.
Those words are what legends say. And legends aren’t always wrong.

Time moved on from there, and the tribes changed.
From the Elves, came Wood Elves and King Elves. Wood Elves have no leader, no home, they are nomads who follow instincts. They will fight for all Elves, and bear no grudge to their house dwelling counterparts.
The King Elves have a monarchy, the finest in the land; they stay at home and are the main military against the fight between them and the Dragon Folk.

The Dragon Folk are power hungry and malicious. Anatal would stroke them down from their pedestal… If he were not gone from the heavens. No one knows where he is, but they pray for that precious glimmer of rainbow streaked light…
The Dragon Folk lay homage to Catash, blood feasts and sacrifices at his blackened altars.

And they spread destruction through the world of Tincondra, as they and their beasts walk through, burning all to dust.
And even the children and the toys are destroyed.

Rules:
1: No immortal characters, it’s no fair!
2: No human of Vampire characters. The Vampires are asleep in ice, and as for humans… What are they?
3: Romance is allowed, of course.
4: Modern inventions are allowed, but must run on magic, and be altered in some way.
5: Characters must believe in some sort of God, since these Gods are very active, it’s be daft not to. Anatal the Creator, Catash the Destroyer, Berani the Balancer are the main gods. There are also many lower gods; you can make them up yourself.

=======

Ishbel Van Helsing sat in her room, reading by flickering firelight. Her blue-purple eyes followed the text neatly as red lips mouthed the words. A slim hand turned the yellowed pages, and then tucked her long waved black hair behind her slightly pointed ear.

The flames danced in the grate as she reclined in her chair, boot clad feet on the desk. She shared the room with someone other elf, but never really talked to the person.

She kept up a strict regime of neatness in her side of the room, military straight covers, clean work surfaces, tidily arranged ornaments and sentimental items.

She stood up, straightening her long black and red clothing, a shirt and trousers as she heard footsteps and a key in the room’s lock.

"Without heroes we are all plain people and don't know how far we can go."

Somewhere on the other side of the same city Ishbel was in, a young man ran through the alleyways, his gold-tinted greenish eyes scared to death. He tripped and fell, scraping his elbows and palms, and he curled up behind a garbage can, his head bowed. Dammit...

I stare at the girl in the mirror: T-shirt, torn up jeans, no beauty queen.
But the way that you see me, you get underneath me, and all my defenses just fall away, fall away.
I am beautiful with you, even in the darkest part of me. I am beautiful with you;
Make it feel the way it's supposed to be!

You're here with me: Just show me this and I'll believe I am beautiful with you!

He looked at her, startled, and swallowed. "You're not going to chase me down and kill me, are you?"

I stare at the girl in the mirror: T-shirt, torn up jeans, no beauty queen.
But the way that you see me, you get underneath me, and all my defenses just fall away, fall away.
I am beautiful with you, even in the darkest part of me. I am beautiful with you;
Make it feel the way it's supposed to be!

You're here with me: Just show me this and I'll believe I am beautiful with you!

I stare at the girl in the mirror: T-shirt, torn up jeans, no beauty queen.
But the way that you see me, you get underneath me, and all my defenses just fall away, fall away.
I am beautiful with you, even in the darkest part of me. I am beautiful with you;
Make it feel the way it's supposed to be!

You're here with me: Just show me this and I'll believe I am beautiful with you!

"You... want me to walk with you?" He raised an eyebrow. His eyes were oddly slanted a little.

I stare at the girl in the mirror: T-shirt, torn up jeans, no beauty queen.
But the way that you see me, you get underneath me, and all my defenses just fall away, fall away.
I am beautiful with you, even in the darkest part of me. I am beautiful with you;
Make it feel the way it's supposed to be!

You're here with me: Just show me this and I'll believe I am beautiful with you!

I stare at the girl in the mirror: T-shirt, torn up jeans, no beauty queen.
But the way that you see me, you get underneath me, and all my defenses just fall away, fall away.
I am beautiful with you, even in the darkest part of me. I am beautiful with you;
Make it feel the way it's supposed to be!

You're here with me: Just show me this and I'll believe I am beautiful with you!